🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Nov4.052742.16237@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>, mouse@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse) writes:
|> In article <14054@elevia.uniforum.qc.ca>, Mouse and Alain chat about
|> assorted political subjects :-)
|> 
|> > There seems to be a growing feeling that our system needs change, not
|> > just new faces.  Maybe it is time to come out with (very firm)
|> > suggestions.
|> 
|> I think it does too.  Unfortunately I have no suggestions, because I
|> don't know what the right thing to do is.  All the good-seeming (to me)
|> systems of government simply do not work when applied to as many people
|> as are in even a small European country, never mind places like Canada
|> or the US.  Communism works fine up to somewhere around 25 to 50
|> people; beyond that it seems to be extremely hard to keep it from
|> either being torn apart by internal friction or turning into
|> dictatorship in disguise.  Democracy works for larger groups, but is
|> utterly hopeless for the number of people present even in Montreal,
|> never mind Canada - I don't think I've heard of a workable democracy
|> ever involving more people than the city-states of ancient Greece.

It should be noted that the Athenian concept of democracy was markedly
different from our own. Only 3000 men were allowed to cast ballots in Athens
so one can safely assume that their `democracy' did not work for the vast
majority of the people. As an aside the citizens also regularly voted on
banishing someone from the city.  One of the best arguments for modern
democracy as a political system is the seeming inability for two democracies
to go to war.  

|> Anarchy is fine provided that all the people involved truly do value
|> the common good above the individual good, but *that* requires either
|> some screening we don't know how to do yet or else a fundamental change
|> in basic human nature.  Any of various forms of dictatorship is fine
|> provided the dictator is truly benevolent and the populace all agree
|> with the dictator on a few basic values - but that too we don't know
|> how to ensure.

I am unware of any historical precedent of a `benevolent dictator'. Thus I
doubt the viability of this approach. Of course, I would not refuse the
position of `benevolent dictator' if it would be offered to me.

|> 
|> And any of these would cause a major upset during the transition from
|> our current system to the new system.  No, I really don't have any
|> suggestions....
|> 
|> 					der Mouse

Thomas